Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ecolab Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 19 analysts, with an average price target of $291.21.
• Insider trading activity includes sales by senior executive Jennifer J. Bradway and director Suzanne M. Vautrinot, resulting in a decrease of their stock ownership by 15.72% and 10.79% respectively.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a yield of 0.9%, to be distributed on October 15th.

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $291.2143.

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 202.6% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 81.5% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $277.20 on Tuesday. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50 day moving average price is $271.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.85.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.

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